Downtown Spotlight from Jason - December 24, 2018

Winter is officially upon us, and with it we take an opportunity to look back on the year as well as look forward into 2019. For me personally, it was a year of great change as I moved from being an active attorney to helping guide Downtown Shareholders. I have been blessed to be welcomed into your community, and amazed by the richness, diversity and drive to make downtown a center point for KCK’s business and culture. I feel like I have met a million people, and still haven’t had the chance to get to know everyone. We’ll keep working on that in 2019.

Two of the biggest news items of 2018 are making us wait until 2019 to see it happen. In February, University of Kansas Health System purchased the old EPA building at 5th and Minnesota, and will open up a Behavioral Health Unit in mid-2019. This will bring hundreds of employees downtown, as well as reactivate that very large and interesting building. I look forward to welcoming all those in the building, and developing a strong relationship with KU Med.

The UG announced plans to build a grocery store across from the Reardon (yes, in that parking lot), with the idea that it will open in late 2019 or early 2020. Not only does that bring desperately needed grocery services to this part of town, it will attract even more employees and visitors downtown, creating an anchor upon which everyone should be able to benefit. All that, and The Merc Co+op has promised us a salad bar.

Even recently, some new businesses have opened downtown, including a new restaurant and a consignment store. We’ll welcome those more fully in the coming weeks, but progress and change is always upon us, even as we wait for it to come.

I wish you all a very Happy Holidays, and a peaceful and prosperous new year.